as in mercy
kind, gentle, or compassionate treatment especially towards someone who is undeserving of it
a social critic who argues that judicial lenity is chiefly to blame for the increased criminality that plagues us
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Recent Examples of lenity
Twelve judges sided with Cargill and concluded that the definition of machine gun was ambiguous enough to invoke a legal principle known as the rule of lenity, which requires courts to interpret unclear criminal laws in a way that's most favorable to the defendant.
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Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 28 Feb. 2024
The majority’s treatment of the rule of lenity also strikes a slightly sour note.
—The Insider, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2021
If the rule of lenity applies here, then Butler should not be charged with a hate crime.
—Mark Joseph Stern, Slate Magazine, 25 Apr. 2017
Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 28 Feb. 2024
The majority’s treatment of the rule of lenity also strikes a slightly sour note.
—The Insider, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2021
If the rule of lenity applies here, then Butler should not be charged with a hate crime.
—Mark Joseph Stern, Slate Magazine, 25 Apr. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lenity
Noun
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Trump has insisted his tariffs would create jobs at home and emancipate the U.S. from being at the mercy of foreign manufacturing.Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 5 Nov. 2024
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Athletes could now profit from their own brands, and the women were no longer merely at the mercy of the N.C.A.A.’s neglect.Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2024
Noun
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By this time, however, even in cases where freethinkers were convicted of blasphemy, judges appeared to offer leniency.Kristina M. Lee, The Conversation, 18 Oct. 2024
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Mexican authorities have accused El Chapo’s son, Joaquín Guzmán López, of plotting with his brother already in U.S. custody to hand over Zambada and cooperate in an effort to secure leniency in their own cases.Keegan Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2024
Noun
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The Menendez defense team is now pursuing an alternate path in the form of a clemency request to Gov. Gavin Newsom.Gene Maddaus, Variety, 30 Oct. 2024
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But Governor Greg Abbott on Monday questioned their authority, saying only his office could grant clemency.Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 22 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near lenity
Cite this Entry
“Lenity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lenity. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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